(Transcript from World News Radio)
Voters go to the polls on Saturday to decide who will represent them in the federal inner Brisbane seat of Griffith.
The vacancy was caused by the resignation of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in November last year triggering a by-election.
Amanda Cavill reports.
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On November 13, a tearful Kevin Rudd announced his intention to resign from politics sending election-weary residents back to the polls.
"Australia is a remarkable country. It is the land of remarkable opportunity. To think that the son of a dairy farmer, whose family had little money, could be elected to parliament to represent the Australian Labor Party, and ultimately to be elected as Leader of the party, and then Prime Minister, says everything about how this country is. And so, having said all that, on this final occasion in the parliament, and as is now officially recorded in the classics for occasions such as this, it really is time for me to zip."
There are 11 people contesting the Griffith by-election.
But the real contest for the seat is between the Coalition's high-profile candidate, former head of the Australian Medical Association Dr Bill Glasson, and Labor's Terri Butler, an employment and industrial relations lawyer.
Bill Glasson has been campaigning on a 'stop-the-carbon-tax' ticket while Terri Butler has focused on the National Broadband Network and the possibility of the government introducing a Medicare co-payment of six dollars on GP visits.
However, both are also facing challenges.
Ms Butler, strongly affiliated with the Queensland union movement, could suffer a voter backlash following new claims of union corruption and bullying in the building industry.
She says the by-election will give people a chance to pass judgement on the Coalition government's performance since winning office last September.
"I think this opportunity is really fantastic for the local community actually because it gives them a chance to send a message to Tony Abbott and his government about the shambolic embarrasment overseas, the loss of manufacturing jobs, all the backflips on education. When I have neem talking to people in this area they are really concerned about those issues. This is a really important by election and I know it's going to be tough but I also know people are really unhappy with Tony Abbott and his government. "
Bill Glasson recorded a 5.5 per cent swing against Labor when he unsuccessfully contested Griffith last September.
He's hoping to make further inroads this time, but observers say it's unlikely he'll be able to secure the extra three per cent swing needed to win on Saturday.
It's been 90 years since a governing party took a seat in a by-election from the opposition but Dr Glasson says he remains hopeful.
"The message to the people of Griffith is this is not a general election, this is a by election. This is not about Mr Abbott, it's not about Mr Shorten, it's about Bill Glasson and his Labor opponent. and so on the day after the by-election you'll still have Tony Abbott as the Prime Minister, you'll still have an LNP (Liberal National Party) government but hopefully you'll have an LNP member for the seat of Griffith."
Greens candidate Geoff Ebbs, who suffered a five per cent swing against him in the September poll, is also standing again.
He's told the ABC he's predicting voters will be more reluctant to support the micro-parties that were so successful in the general election.
"We'll be aiming to regain all of the ground that we lost in the September general election and hopefully get a bit more on top of that. The result where we've had micro-parties gaining senate seats has alerted people to some of the dangers implicit in that kind of reaction against the major parties."
The preferences of other parties contesting the by-election could be important if the primary vote is close.
Apart from the Greens, there are candidates for the Stable Population Party, Family First, the Bullet Train for Australia, the Secular Party, the Pirate Party and Katter's Australian Party.
But if the betting public is anything to go by, Bill Glasson's chances of taking up a seat in federal parliament look unlikely.
With just a few days to go, bookies were offering odds of more than six-to-one, while Ms Butler was almost an even money favourite.
